• Gross Written Premium increased to K4, 568 million from K3, 576 million in 2020.
• The contribution of the sector to GDP in 2020 was 3.29%, compared to 2.63% in 2019.
• This year’s Insurance Week is being commemorated under the theme “Creating a confident future with insurance.”

Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) has disclosed that the Insurance sector recorded a growth rate of 27.75 percent in 2020.
Speaking during the 2021 Insurance Week media briefing, Authority Acting Deputy Registrar for Insurance, Namakau Ntini said general insurance stood at K2.9 billion while long-term stood at K1. 5 billion.
She stated that despite the effects of Covid-19 on the sector in 2021, the mid-year unaudited results are also showing some growth in the insurance industry.
“In quantum, Gross Written Premium increased to K4, 568 million from K3, 576 million in 2020. General insurance stood at K2, 973 million while long-term stood at K1, 594 million.
“For 2021, notwithstanding the effects of the Covid-19 on the industry, the mid-year unaudited results are also showing some positive growth in the insurance industry. The combined industry Gross Written Premium as at 30th June 2021 stood at K3, 603 million,” Ms. Ntini revealed.
And Mrs. Ntini disclosed that according to the 2020 Finscope Survey, the number of people that do not know insurance decreased to 40.9 percent from 80.1 percent in 2015, while insurance uptake had increased to 5 percent from 2.8 percent.
She said while the figure is above the African average that currently stands at approximately 2.9 percent, it is still below the National Financial Inclusion Strategy target of increasing insurance uptake to 15 percent by 2022.
Mrs. Ntini noted that low insurance uptake implies that there is a huge protection gap, leaving households and businesses vulnerable to shocks triggered by pandemics like Covid-19, hence the importance of having consumer education activities such as the insurance week.
“This figure remains high and hence the Authority in collaboration with industry players is committed to ensuring that the public is adequately educated on the benefits of insurance.”
“We believe that this will help to increase insurance uptake, as the public through consumer education activities such as the insurance week have an opportunity to learn how insurance works and the various products on the market.”
Meanwhile, Mrs. Ntini discloses that Zambia is one of the four countries that have been selected to participate in the access to Inclusive Insurance, (A2ii), which is an implementing arm of the International Association of Insurance supervisors, 3rd inclusive insurance innovation lab running from 2021 to 2022.
“The lab is a unique opportunity to foster change in insurance markets by enabling dialogue and mutual learning amongst key stakeholders in the local country teams, cross- pollination of initiatives across participating jurisdictions, equipping participants to take leadership within their sector and/or organisation, and inspiring participants to take action and support initial implementation,” she said.
She added that the other three countries namely, Costa Rica, Grenada and Zimbabwe together with Zambia will work on developing innovative insurance solutions to tackle the impact of climate change, especially amongst the most vulnerable segments of the population.
And Insurers Association of Zambia (IAZ) President Christabel Banda disclosed that the 2020 Gross Written Premium (GWP) for the industry was K4, 556 million, representing a growth of 21% compared to the premiums recorded in 2019.
Ms. Banda said General Insurance Companies recorded a GWP of K2, 983 million compared to K2, 292 million in 2019, while the Life Insurance companies recorded a GWP of K1, 573 million compared to K1, 456 million.
“The contribution of the sector to the country’s GDP in 2020 was 3.29%, compared to 2.63% in 2019. The industry players incurred a total of K1.4 billion in net claims in 2020 compared to K1 billion in 2019, representing a growth of 11%.
“The General Insurance Companies paid a total of K667 million in 2020 compared to K488 million in 2019, while the Life Assurance companies registered net claims and benefits of K715.23 million compared to K517.23 million,” she said.
She further revealed that the industry recorded a decline in percentage of debtors, going down to 16% in 2020 from 22% the previous year, indicating an improvement, but that more still needs to be done to change the credit culture.
“The 2020 Finscope Survey indicates that the percentage of insured adults in Zambia, moved from 2.8% in 2015, to 5% in 2020. While this is an improvement, it shows that we have a long way to go,” Ms. Banda added.
This year’s 9th edition of Insurance Week is being commemorated under the theme “Creating a confident future with insurance.”